NEW YORK — Bobby Valentine was just trying to keep things loose — and perhaps save his job — when he donned a makeshift disguise and returned to the New York Mets‘ dugout after being ejected from a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 9, 1999.
It turned into a defining moment, maybe even the most memorable of his 40-plus years in baseball.
On the eve of his induction into the Mets Hall of Fame, Valentine reveled in that clandestine act Friday night when the former manager again wore sunglasses and a fake mustache while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to a similarly disguised Mr. Met.
Valentine, 76, who will be honored Saturday alongside ex-Mets teammate Lee Mazzilli, emerged from the New York dugout and received a warm hand from a Citi Field crowd that included fans already adorned in the ballpark giveaway — sunglasses and a fake mustache.
Valentine moved a few steps in front of the mound and tossed a pitch to the team mascot, whose hat read: Not Mr. Met.
Moments later, local children from John Lewis Childs grammar school on Long Island sang the national anthem — with several of them wearing fake mustaches. Another group of kids in disguise then pushed a button to activate the Home Run Apple beyond the center-field fence.
“Great memories for me,” Valentine said through vice president of alumni public relations and team historian Jay Horwitz. “At the time I did the mustache, we were struggling and I wanted to let the guys know I was behind them.”
Valentine donned the disguise — using eye black to make the mustache — three days after general manager Steve Phillips fired three New York coaches. Valentine responded by saying the Mets, who were 27-28 at the time of the dismissals, should fire him if the team didn’t go 40-15 over its next 55 games.
The Mets won their next three and were locked in a tie game with Toronto when Valentine got tossed for arguing a catcher’s interference call on Mike Piazza. Encouraged by Orel Hershiser and Robin Ventura, Valentine put on the sunglasses, constructed his mustache and crept back into the dugout, where television cameras immediately spotted him.
Any chance Valentine had of pleading innocence evaporated when he led the charge onto the field to celebrate Rey Ordoñez’s game-winning single in the 14th inning. Valentine was fined $5,000 and suspended two games.
“It was made a big thing because things were kind of big at that time,” Valentine told ESPN in 2019. “I was supposed to be fired.”
Instead, the Mets went 40-15 in the 55 games following the coaching changes and eventually reached the National League Championship Series. Valentine managed New York to the World Series against the crosstown Yankees in 2000 and ranked second in team history in wins and games managed when he was fired following the 2002 season.
